The proclivity of elected officials to use the law to serve only their purpose and that of the strong against the weak in the society remains a dangerous threat to the survival of our democracy.
The laws of the land seem targeted only at the poor and the weak, while those who are highly placed can get away with even murder.
It is indeed difficult to tell the place of the rule of law or its supremacy in a society where supposedly democratically elected officials who swore to uphold the constitution flagrantly disregard the laws of the country in their quest to stamp their superiority over others.
How does an institution such as the legislature, the very cradle of democracy and the rule of law, conveniently ignore a court order and still use the same court process and technicality as an excuse for denying someone justice? More like saying they can determine what laws to obey and which to spurn?
The standoff between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Nigerian Senate is a clear case of a supposedly democratically elected officials using an institution, in this case the legislature, to overreach themselves in a bid to prove their disdain for the law and a contempt for the judiciary and the rule of law.
The Senate had suspended Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central for six months and in July she had written the Senate reaffirming her intention to resume duties at the Senate on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in compliance with a court ruling —despite an appeal lodged by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The embattled lawmaker was physically blocked from entering the National Assembly complex on Tuesday, 22 July, 2025, just days after the Federal High Court ruled that the legal provisions on which her suspension was based were excessive and were not in line with constitutional provisions.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, the Federal High Court held that the provisions of Chapter 8 of the Senate Rules and Section 14(2) of the Legislative House (Powers & Privileges) Act which allow for indefinite suspension of legislative members are at variance with the intendment of the Constitution. Section 14(2) of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017 authorises legislative houses to suspend members found in contempt, depriving them of access and compensation, though the duration must not outlast the current legislative session.
The judge, however, found her in contempt of court for a Facebook post that breached an earlier gag order on public comments about the case. The penalty was a ₦5 million fine and a mandatory apology on social media and in two national dailies.
Recall that the Senate had earlier ignored an interim order on March 4 by Justice Egwuatu of the Federal High Court which restrained the Senate from proceeding with the disciplinary action against her.
However, in a July 14th letter to her legal team, the National Assembly’s Director of Litigation, Charles Yoila, described the ruling as “declaratory” meaning, in their view, it’s a suggestion, not a command. The letter claims the judgment merely acknowledged that her constituents deserve representation but didn’t legally compel her return. Whether or not the suspension is lifted, the Senate says, is entirely at its discretion.
Now after completing her six months suspension, March 6 to September 6, she wrote the National Assembly notifying it of her intention to resume her legislative functions as a duly elected member, and the Senate replied to her alleging subjudice as reason for denying her resumption.
The National Assembly rejected the Senator’s plan, stating that her six-month suspension remains in force pending the outcome of a Court of Appeal case instituted against the Senate by Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In a letter issued by the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, dated September 4, 2025, the Senate acknowledged Akpoti-Uduaghan’s notification of her intended return on September 4, the date she claimed marked the end of her suspension.
However, the Senate clarified that her suspension took effect on March 6, 2025, and emphasised that the matter is still subjudice.
The Senate insisted that no administrative action can be taken until the Court of Appeal delivers a verdict.
The letter stated that the Senate would only review her suspension after the court’s pronouncement.
“The matter remains subjudice, and until the judicial process is concluded, no administrative action can be taken to facilitate your resumption,” the letter read in part.
How is it that the same Senate that has treated the judiciary and the courts with contempt from the beginning of this standoff is now basing the justification of its lawlessness on the outcome of an appeal before the court?
How is it that the Assembly is claiming that allowing her resume would amount to subjudice when the same Assembly ignored an interim order which restrained it from proceeding with its disciplinary action against her? Again, if as it claimed Justice Binta Nyako’s judgement against the suspension was merely a suggestion not a command to legally compel her return, did Justice Nyako’s statement that the punishment was too punitive for the offence committed and that the duration must not outlast the current legislative session, according to its rule also ambiguous? If the court had ruled that six months was too much for the offence, why is the Senate seeking through the backdoor to extend the punishment all in the name of an unresolved appeal?
The National Assembly cannot pretend to regard the law when in actual fact it does not. This is a clear case of dictatorship and in total disregard to the Kogi Central people that the Senator represents and the rule of law.
As it is, it’s our judiciary that is being assaulted and the supremacy of the law that is being rubbished by a group of people who, ironically, are supposed to be lawmakers.
This barefaced tyranny must be resisted because it simply does not bode well for democracy. No single person or persons or as in this case, an institution can pride itself as being above the law. The National Assembly is just an arm of government and it cannot arrogate to itself powers not envisaged in the Constitution of the country.
After all said and done we all know this is not about the violation of any Assembly rules but the bruising of the ego of a bunch of strong men who see themselves as being above the law.
If after serving her six months suspension Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is denied resumption to the National Assembly then it’s a clear indication that she is being punished not for breaking the rules of the National Assembly but for breaking the hearts of Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President.
Because if the former is the case she has duly served her suspension but if the latter is the case then her suspension may as well last for as long as it takes Senator Akpabio’s heart to heal. Simple!
